CONWAY — The annual BA/BFA Senior Exhibit, featuring works by 11 graduating art students, will be on display in the University of Central Arkansas’s Baum Gallery of Fine Art from April 3-24.

The UCA Department of Art will host receptions on Thursday, April 3, from 5-7 p.m. and Sunday, April 13, from 2-4 p.m. in the gallery.

The receptions and exhibition are free and open to the public.

“There’s always excitement surrounding the senior exhibitions,” said Dr. Jeff Young associate professor and chair of the UCA Department of Art. “The best work selected for exhibition will be a marriage of content and execution, meaning that the subject matter and ideas that the candidate is exploring should also be strong technically, with good craftsmanship and presentation.”

The exhibition will feature works by nine Bachelor of Arts undergraduates with a fine art emphasis and two Bachelor of Fine Arts undergraduates with a studio art emphasis.

All art majors, with the exception of art history emphasis majors, are required to participate in the BA/BFA Senior Exhibition to meet their graduation requirements.

Young said the media featured in the exhibit would include ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, painting, photography, drawing and graphic design.

A jury of faculty members must approve all work before it can be included in the exhibition.

BFA students submit proposals outlining the body of work they want to create for the exhibit. The proposal is then reviewed and approved by the art faculty. After approval, students meet individually with their primary adviser to discuss the progress of their work, as well as meet weekly for group critiques with a faculty panel and other students.

“This process allows students the time and input to fully explore their ideas, the materials they are working with, and whether the work they are making is effective,” Young said.

“BA students are required to present their strongest work to a faculty panel several weeks prior to the opening of the exhibit. During this interview with the faculty panel, the students must be able to discuss their work in a sophisticated manner, explaining ideas behind the work, influences and technical issues. During this interview, the student and the faculty select the work that will be included in the senior exhibition.”

Young said these exhibits help students gain practical experience by working with Barclay McConnell, director of the Baum Gallery, and her staff by providing graduating students the opportunity to exhibit their work in a gallery setting and place their work for display.

“More importantly, we often talk about how art is another form of communication,” Young said. “Artists make their work, but for the ‘communication’ to occur, other people have to view and respond to it. Participating in this exhibit allows them to show their work to a broader audience — and for that communication to happen.”

McConnell said this exhibition would be the culmination of the work of art students over the course of their career at UCA.

“It is meant to be exemplary work, exhibiting their skill attained and all of their learning acquired through their studies with UCA’s excellent department of art faculty,” she said.

McConnell said that she personally enjoys the sense of pride that is apparent in the artists at the opening reception, with their friends and family there congratulating them for the results of all their hard work.

“I also love simply seeing the fine work our graduating art students produce each semester,” she said.

Gallery hours are from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with extended hours until 7 p.m. Thursdays. The gallery is also open from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. For directions and a campus map, visit www.uca.edu/art/baum.

For more information, contact Young at (501) 450-5791 or jyoung@uca.edu.

The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Communication, Mass Communication and Theatre, Music and Writing. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.